Ty Dilello
The Niverville Nighthawks have been eliminated from the MJHL postseason after a 3–2 season-ending loss in game four at the CRRC on Thursday night to the Steinbach Pistons.
With their backs up against the wall, the Nighthawks came out firing. Brendan Bottem got the home club on the board with a goal just 30 seconds into the contest.
From there, Steinbach started to control the play, as they have for the entire series. The Pistons scored twice in the second half of the first period to jump out to a 2–1 lead.
Niverville got one back early in the second period when Michael Debrito tied the game. Steinbach then scored midway through the second frame to take the lead.
Although Niverville pushed to tie the game again, they couldn’t muster another goal. The third period was scoreless as the Pistons held on to sweep the Nighthawks in four straight games.
Keegan Gordon stopped 33 shots for the Nighthawks in the loss.
“Depth and consistency was the difference in this season, as they have it and we don’t,” said Nighthawks head coach Dwight Hirst. “They’ve built a program that has been developed from within and we are a young franchise building in that direction.”
The new coach has enjoyed his time in Niverville greatly and hopes to stay on as coach for next season.
“It’s been a great opportunity to meet a great group of players, trainers, equipment managers, management, and arena staff,” said Hirst. “Staying on as coach is a decision that the board of directors will make in the coming weeks. But I would love the opportunity to build upon our changes and culture we built here in the last six weeks.”
With the Nighthawks season coming to a close, the club would like to thank all of the fans for their tremendous support throughout this campaign. The Nighthawks will be back in 2024–25 and look forward to having a stronger season than ever.